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Birthday cards are probably one of the cards I make and send most. But, how do you make a card for a grown man look classy and elegant? I found that it's really quite easy with a simple black, gold and white color combination. Add some balloons and champagne (wine or beer works too) and cheers to the years! Today's cards will be the first of many cards I share this month using a similar color palette.   Card details:The base of this A2 sized card is made from black cardstock. Using the Stitched Scalloped Rectangles from Gina Marie Designs, I die cut the background from Neenah Solar White crest cardstock. I die cut a half circle in the center of this white cardstock and lined the back with clear acetate in order to make a shaker card. I lined the back of the hole with a gold foil striped paper. I added black, gold and white sequins to the shaker. I heat embossed the word "cheers" in gold embossing powder on the front lower right corner of the card. I stamped the champagne bottle and two wine classes in Versamark ink on black cardstock before heat embossing them with gold embossing powder. I fussy cut the images out and adhered them to the card using 3M foam adhesive. *I used the "Cheers" (retired) stamp set from 88 and Clear to create both of these cards.     Thanks for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day! XO, Crystal
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As promised in yesterday's post about the latest release of new products from Whimsy Stamps, today I am sharing another way to use the new Elegant Ornaments stamp set and coordinating die. Yesterday's slimline card was very whimsical and colorful, while today's A2 sized shaker card is more of a classic elegance in black and gold. Do you prefer one over the other?  Card details:*A full list of supplies is located at the end of this post. The base of this A2 size card is made from Basic Black cardstock. The first layer is a piece of 5 1/4" x 4" 80 lb. Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. Using the Gina Marie Scalloped Stitched nesting Rectangle dies, I die cut the frame from Gold Glitter cardstock. I stamped the sentiment "Merry Christmas" in Memento Tuxedo Black ink on the lower 1/3 of the card. I lined the back of the gold frame with a piece of acetate and then lined the acetate end-to-end with thin strips of foam adhesive. I placed approximately one tablespoon each of black and gold sequins on the card and then flipped the shaker frame on top of the sequins. I heat embossed the ornaments with gold embossing powder on black cardstock and then used the coordinating die to die cut the ornaments out. I adhered the ornaments to the top of the shaker frame using 3M foam adhesive for added dimension.     I have one more card to share with you tomorrow using this same stamp set, so be sure to come back and visit then. To see the entire new Whimsy Stamps release, please click here. Thank you and have a wonderfully creative day! XO, CrystalList of supplies:
Hello readers and welcome back from the weekend! I hope you found a little time to do something crafty. It's Monday, so today we have a new challenge to share with you at Inky Paws Challenge. Challenge #135 is a sketch challenge. Using the sketch shown in the image below, share with us YOUR creations!
For some reason, I really struggled with this layout, even though it really seems quite simple! Here is my take on the sketch:
Card details:
*A full list of supplies is located at the end of this post.
The base of this A2 sized card is made from 80 lb. Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. Using the Frames & Flags die set, I cut the first mat from purple cardstock. I then cut a 5" x 3/4" piece of white cardstock for inside the scalloped frame. I used a piece of Lawn Fawn Really Rainbow paper to place diagonally across the white cardstock (to mimic the sketch image) and stamped "It's Your Day" in purple ink just below the paper. Using the Balloon Shaker Frames die set, I cut two balloons from pink and purple glittery cardstock and filled each with pink and irridiscent sequins. I stamped the backing of each balloon with "Yay" and "Make a Wish" sentiments from the "Birthday Essentials" stamp set in pink and purple inks. I adhered the balloons to the card using 3M foam adhesive. 
Are you ready to get your paws inky with us and play along to win a prize? We will chose a RANDOM entry to win a $20 store credit to our Newton's Nook Designs online shop! We will also highlight our favorites from each challenge the following Monday so all entries have a chance to be featured on this blog!
You have TWO WEEKS to play along - Deadline to enter is Friday, November 6th , 2020 at Midnight CST. The winners will be announced on the Newton's Nook blog the following Monday. Are you ready to play along and get your paws inky? Make sure you check the challenge rules page before you link up your project. XO, CrystalList of supplies:WOW! Today I am thrilled beyond belief to share with you that my work has been featured for the very first time in the latest edition of “Making Cards and PaperCraft” magazine! I have had many goals since I began my cardmaking adventure more than 15 years ago from teaching classes to designing for companies and ultimately being published one day. This year saw the last of those personal goals come true! And now I rest. . . ; ) I owe this amazing achievement to Whimsy Stamps for allowing me the opportunity to represent their company with these shaker cards. I am also humbled and grateful to all those friends and family who have supported me by attending classes throughout the years and encouraging me along the way. MY victories are YOUR victories and I celebrate them with you. Thank you!    Making Cards & Papercraft magazine is a magazine published in the UK and can sometimes be difficult to purchase in the US. I have been to Michaels, JoAnn's and Barnes & Noble and I was not able to procure a print magazine. However, if you would like to purchase (or subscribe) to this wonderful paper arts magazine, you can purchase the digital magazine online or order a paper print copy here. In case you aren't able to see the magazine in person, here is a closer look at all three of the slimline shaker cards that I created that are featured in the magazine:  
   Thank you for allowing to share my achievements with you! I shall now go eat a Boston creme donut to celebrate! Have a wonderfully creative day! XO, CrystalWhimsy Stamps products used:
Today I am sharing another way to use the new "Sheets & Giggles" stamp set from the September release at Whimsy Stamps. If you missed yesterday's card, please click here to see it, because it's a lot of fun for Halloween! For today's card I created a shaker card and used another new stamp set called "Spooky Parlor" background behind the shaker frame. And the best part?! If you look closely at the frame, you will see the sequins inside the shaker component are actually little ghosts! I cannot recall where I originally purchased these sequins, but I did find a similar mix through Lucy's Cards, if you like them too! Card details:*A full list of supplies is located at the end of this post. The base of this A2 sized card is made from Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. I stamped the Spooky Parlor background in Versamark ink on a piece of Basic Black cardstock. I heat embossed the image with white embossing powder. I cut this background image to 5" x 3 3/" and adhered it directly to my white card base. Using the Wavy Nested Frames die set, I cut a wonky hole in the center of this mottled black and white cardstock (a SNEAK PEEK at an upcoming paper pack from Whimsy Stamps)! I lined the back of the paper with clear acetate and then I lined edge to edge with foam adhesive. I sprinkled about two tablespoons of sequins directly onto the Spooky Parlor background and then flipped over the frame and secured it in place so the sequins could not fall out. I stamped two of the ghosts from the Sheets & Giggles and fussy cut them out. I adhered each ghosts to a corner of the card using 3M foam adhesive. I stamped the sentiment in Memento Tuxedo black ink on white cardstock and fussy cut it by hand into thin strips. I adhered the sentiment to each corner of the card also using 3M foam adhesive. Lastly, I added a coat of clear Wink of Stella to the ghosts for added sparkle.      I hope you have enjoyed these sassy cards (both yesterday's and today's) using the new "Sheets & Giggles" stamp set from Whimsy Stamps. Thank you for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day! XO, CrystalList of supplies:
Hello and happy Friday, friends! Today Whimsy Stamps is having a slimline cards hop on both Instagram and YouTube. Members of the Creative Team have designed a variety of slimline cards, both to inspire you, as well as to promote Whimsy Stamps for being the innovator of the slimline dies. You can begin the Instagram hop on the Whimsy Stamps account here. Or, you can start the YouTube hop here on my YouTube page! For my card, I have used the Corny Candy Corn stamp set and the Filmstrip Slimline die to create this fun Halloween themed shaker card:      Here is the step-by-step instructional video I created to show you how to create this shaker card: I hope you will be inspired by the many creative slimline card ideas you will see on both the Instagram and YouTube hops! Thanks for visiting and have a great weekend! XO, CrystalList of supplies:
Hello friends and happy Friday! I hope you have fun things planned for the weekend ahead. I hope to be spending lots of time in my craft room as I have many projects to design for some upcoming deadlines! I tried to accomplish some of them last weekend, but I have been feeling a little less than inspired lately, so. . hello procrastination, party of one! Now it's crunch time. . . Today I am sharing another slimline birthday card using the same Slimline Birthday Scallops die and Celebrate Word dies from Whimsy Stamps that I used yesterday, but this card has a whole different look!  Card details:*A full list of supplies is located at the end of this post. The base of this slimline card is made from Basic Black cardstock. Using the Five Frames Slimline die, I cut the frame initially from Neenah White Solar Smooth cardstock. Then I cut the frame five more times in Lovely Lipstick cardstock, Calypso Coral cardstock, Daffodil Delight cardstock, Granny Apple Green cardstock and finally Pacific Point cardstock. I cut candles from each of the same color and adhered the candles directly to the background on a sheet of white cardstock. I sprinkled about three tablespoons of rainbow colored sequins directly over the candles before I created the shaker frame. I lined the back of the frame with a sheet of acetate and then lined over the acetate end-to-end wit foam adhesive before placing the frame over the candles and sequins. Press firmly to ensure all ends are sealed and that sequins cannot fall out. Using the "celebrate" word dies, I cut the bold shadow from black cardstock and the thinner script word from silver glitter cardstock. I adhere both layers together using a Lawn Fawn glue pen. Then I adhered the entire word sentiment to the front of the card using 3M foam adhesive for added dimension.     Thank you for visiting and have a great weekend! XO, CrystalList of supplies:
First things first, despite the tag on this jar of flowers reading, "SMIL", it does in fact, actually say "SMILE!" I realized after taking the photos for this card that one of the leaves was hanging down over the tag thereby blocking the "E." And now, I can't unsee it!! It's going to drive me insane. But, all that aside, I love this fun shaker jar of flowers all made with products from Whimsy Stamps.  Card details:*Full list of supplies located at the end of this post. The base of this A2 sized card is made from Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. Using a scalloped rectangle dies, I cut the frame from Crumb Cake cardstock. I cut a 5" x 3 3/4" piece of white cardstock to line the frame with and I stamped the sentiment in the upper right corner using Memento Tuxedo black ink. I created the shaker frame using the Mason Atlas Jar and die cut it from Balmy Blue cardstock. I lined the back of the jar with a piece of acetate film and added blue and clear Sparkletz (glass beads and sequins) before sealing the shaker frame down. I stamped the flowers in Memento Tuxedo black ink on white cardstock. I colored the flowers with Copic markers and fussy cut them (as there is no coordinating die). I adhered the flowers to the card using 3M foam adhesive for added dimension. Lastly, I added a coat of clear Wink of Stella to the flowers for sparkle.     Shaker cards remain one of my favorite interactive cards to make. Thanks for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day! XO, CrystalList of supplies:
Hello readers and welcome back from the weekend! I hope you found a little time to do something crafty. Today I am sharing another card that I made for the Newton's Nook Inky Paws Challenge #126. This week we have a sketch challenge to inspire you. Our challenges run for two weeks, thereby giving you more time to create, so I have designed a second card to share with you this week that was still inspired by the same image seen below:  Here is the fun London themed shaker card I created inspired by this week's sketch:  Card details:The base of this A2 sized card is made from Neenah Solar White smooth cardstock. I cut a 5" x 3 3/4" piece of white cardstock and matted this on top of a piece of Pacific Point blue cardstock. I stamped the sentiment in the upper right corner in Real Red ink. I cut a piece of plaid paper and adhered it to the bottom third of the card. I also cut a strip of Real Red cardstock and stamped "I (heart) London" over it in red ink before adhering it to the card. I created a shaker circle using the Circle Frame dies and filled the shaker with iridescent sequins. I stamped the London Tower, the bus and the Newton's umbrella images from the Newton Dreams of London stamp set in Memento Tuxedo Black ink. I colored the images with Copic markers and die cut them using the coordinating Newton Dreams of London dies. I adhered the images to the card using 3M foam adhesive for added dimension.    Will this sketch inspire YOU to create? Are you ready to get your paws inky with us and play along for a chance to win?! We will randomly select one linked entry to receive a $20 store credit to the Newton's Nook Designs online shop! We will also highlight our favorites from each challenge the following Monday, so that all entries have a chance to be featured on the Newton's Nook Designs blog. Please make sure you review the challenge rules page before you link up your project! Deadline to enter is Friday, July 3rd, at midnight CST. Thanks for visiting and I hope to see your creations there! XO, CrystalLast week three of my girlfriend's and I got together outside for our first socially-distanced happy hour and it was such a nice break from everything that has been going on and a chance to catch up after months of text messages only. It was a BYOE (Bring Your Own Everything) evening where you had to bring your own lawn chair, drink and snacks, so that we didn't have to share anything. Despite the extra bit of planning, it worked out just fine and it was our time to "venti" with the girls! Okay, in full disclosure, there may have been less "venti" and more "wine-y," but whatever. . . Today's "Let's Venti" card features the fun new "Cool Beans" stamp set by Whimsy Stamps.  Card details:*A full list of supplies is located at the end of this post. The base of this A2 sized shaker card is made from white cardstock. Using the Whimsy Stamps Peekabook Window 1 die, I cut the first layer from Crumb Cake cardstock. Using Crumb Cake ink, I stamped coffee beans all of the background. I lined the back of the frame with acetate film and lined all the edges with foam strips. I placed about two tablespoons of pink and iridescent sequins behind the frame before securing it down. I stamped the sentiment "let's venti" in Versamark ink in the lower right corner and heat embossed it with white embossign powder. I stamped the coffee images in Memento Tuxedo black ink on white cardstock and colored them with Copic markers. I used my Scan and Cut 2 electronic cutting machine to cut all of the images out (in lieu of fussy cutting). I adhered the images to the card with 3M foam adhesive for added dimension. Lastly, I added a coat of Clear Wink of Stella to the coffee cups for added sparkle.      Shaker cards are still one of my favorite interactive cards to make! Thank you for visiting! XO, CrystalList of supplies:
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